Putman was among about 7,000 athletes who swam, biked and ran in Sunday’s event, which drew longtime professionals as well as amateurs, some of whom trained for half a year or more beforehand.

Among the more elite participants, Hunter Kemper from Colorado Springs, Colo., and Alicia Kaye, from Clermont, Fla., each won $10,000 for finishing first in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively. Chicago resident Ben Collins finished in second place and Stuart Hayes, from the United Kingdom, took third. In the women’s division, Helle Frederiksen of Denmark took second place, and Daniela Ryf of Switzerland, took third.

One of 22 paratriathletes who participated in Sunday’s event, Putman swam with a helper’s guidance, rode a tricycle and used canes during the running portion, walking as quickly as she can.

“I may not be as fast as I want to be, but it’s something,” said Putman, as she was cooling off at the finish line Sunday morning.

She said she completed the race in about five hours and said she was happy to hit a personal best during the biking portion.

But for Putman, the event was particularly special because it marked her first time at the Chicago triathlon since 2004. Back then, Putman was supposed to partake in the event along with about 10 friends. The accident kept her from participating, but she still showed up in a wheelchair to support her friends.

The same wheelchair is now stuck somewhere in the basement of her house, she said.

“If I were going to say anything to anybody, it would be, ‘Don’t give up’ and ‘Do what you can to move forward,’” she said.

Putman, who has been in four other triathlons this year, said she exercises simply because she can and has to make sure she stays in shape so she doesn’t lose the progress her body made since the crash.

“I don’t want to go back to that wheelchair,” she said.

Other triathlon participants also pushed through personal fears and injuries this weekend to achieve their goals.

Chicago resident Marcell Varciag, 29, said he did not learn how to swim until the beginning of this year, when he started to train along with his friend Laura Chavez for the event.

“I hate swimming,” he said, as he was still panting at the finish line from the running, which came at the end of the triathlon. “The water was so dark and scary as hell. I was glad to be out.”

Varciag said he set out to complete a triathlon after having a tough year in 2012.

“I really wanted to prove to myself and to others that I can finish what I start,” he said, adding that he wanted show his 16-month-old daughter, Grace Kelly Varciag, that she could also achieve anything as well if she pursues it.

Varciag also had to push through physical obstacles after a car hit him about a month ago while he was training on his bicycle in the city. Varciag’s right leg was pierced by the car’s license plate, and he had to spend more than a month in recovery. But it wasn’t enough to deter him from his goal of finishing the triathlon. Next year, Varciag said he hopes to compete at a higher level by participating in all the Ironman triathlons in the Midwest.

For other Chicago triathlon participants, the event represented a comfortable rhythm in their busy schedule.

Like many other people, Zoltan Varga, 43, a St. Louis resident, said he first got interested in triathlons because he just wanted to get fit.

More than 230 competitions later, he said that participating and preparing for triathlons is now a way of life for him.

Originally from Hungary, Varga, who has done triathlons since 1986, said he has gotten to travel and meet many people because of his interest in the sport.

“It’s very much a part of who I am,” he said. “It’s more than a hobby.”

Delivering on a promise that helped bring him victory, Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing an education budget for 2015-16 that seeks to restore funding for public schools and higher education that his predecessor Tom Corbett wiped way.